The Funnest Group Research in My Entire Life

Name : Patrik, Inaya, Silvie, Helene
Course : Emotions in News (group assignment – research proposal)

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Research Question

How did the Netherlands and English newspapers portray ‘the Zidane headbutt’ during the World Cup 2006 final?

Event Analysed (Brief Description):

During the final match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, French football player Zinedine Zidane notoriously headbutted Italian football player Marco Materazzi in the chest. The incident was vastly referred to by the media as the ‘Zidane headbutt’.

The particular game was Zidane’s last appearance on the field, as he had previously announced that he would retire from professional football after the 2006 World Cup – this is one of the assumptions as to why the event has become a worldwide incident since Zidane was one of the world’s best players.

After the final, President Jacques Chirac hailed Zidane as a national hero and called him a “man of heart and conviction’ (Washington Post, 9 July 2006). Chirac later added that he found the offense to be unacceptable, but that he understood Zidane had been provoked (MSNBC, 9 July 2006). President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria expressed his solidarity with Zidane in a letter of support (Reuters UK, 11 July 2006).[1] Countless different opinions on the event was vocalised by the French as well as international media. However, the underlying assumption that motivated this research is well-put by a commentator for TIME magazine, who regarded the incident as a symbol for Europe’s “grappling with multi-culturalism” (TIME, 13 July 2006). Zidane’s image as both a football hero and an immigrant caused many controversies which have been portrayed differently in various media.

Material to be Analysed:

The assumption our group consented upon is that, aside from technical linguistic limitation, the French and Italian media would most possibly have ‘emotional’ responses to the incident. That is why it would be interesting to study how the media in two European countries, other than France and Italy, known for their football culture and pride have portrayed this event. What the emotions in the news of these countries are, despite having less cultural and national involvement in the incident. The countries chosen are the Netherlands and the UK (England).

The type of media chosen is newspaper, specifically those that are of highest selling – assuming that they have the widest coverage then they must be representative of public emotions. The two highest grossing newspapers in the Netherlands are the A.D. (Algemeen Dagblad) and the Telegraaf and the two of UK are The Sun and its main competitor the Daily Mirror (Newspaper Marketing Agency, 2006).

Method of Analysis:

The group has decided to analyse the written text of the newspaper by means of discourse analysis; for example the power relations within the text, the oppositional stances and means of delivery.

[1] Zinedine Zidane’s parents immigrated to France from Kabylie, Algeria.